Lockout Tagout kits are used to isolate different types of energy sources, thus preventing their operation during maintenance procedures.
Energy, when referred to in lockout and tagout, is broken down into two categories. Energy can either be constant and used as the main driving force behind a machine’s operation, or it can alternatively be stored energy, either stored intentionally or leftover as residual energy when a machine is powered down.
Leading energy can be an electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic pump, hydraulic line, water, gas, chemical or coolant, or steam. Stored energy types include release gas, gravity, motion control, rotation, hydraulic, water, pneumatic, chemical or coolant, electrical, steam, and thermal. Every one of these energy types is susceptible to a Lockout Tagout programme, and not enforcing one can result in extremely nasty accidents – or even the death – of those working on machinery powered by energy sources.
Stored energy is the perhaps most overlooked part of the Lockout/Tagout procedure. Your first move at this point would be to isolate the valve using one of the included lockout devices by clipping it onto the valve and securing it in place using the included lockout padlocks. You’d then use the included tags to indicate that Lockout Tagout is in place, and tell all employees that this is the case.
With the energy source isolated, you might then go about doing work and send employees into the large pipe to carry out maintenance. But what about the residual energy? There may be excess, super-heated steam inside, leading to potentially nasty burns for those about to enter the pipe. This steam MUST be siphoned away before the maintenance goes ahead, and the same principle applies to electrical, chemicals, and other forms of stored or residual energy types.
Our Lockout Tagout kits are suitable for use on electrical, miniature circuit breakers, valves, and pneumatic energy sources.
